5 Financial KPIs Explained & How to Calculate Them Easily (2024)

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As a business owner, keeping track of your company’s financial health is essential to ensure its long-term success. That’s where financial KPIs come in. KPIs or Key Performance Indicators are metrics that help you measure the performance of your business against its goals.

You can make data-driven decisions and improve your company’s financial health by tracking these KPIs. This article will discuss five essential financial KPIs and provide simple strategies to calculate them easily.

The 5 Key Financial KPIs and Simple Calculation Strategies

Gross Profit Margin

Gross Profit Margin is a financial KPI that measures the profitability of your business after accounting for the cost of goods sold (COGS). It represents the amount of revenue that remains after subtracting the cost of producing or acquiring the goods. To calculate the Gross Profit Margin, you need to subtract COGS from revenue, divide the result by revenue, then multiply by 100 to get the percentage.

The formula is as follows:

Gross Profit Margin = ((Revenue – COGS) / Revenue) x 100

Gross Profit Margin helps you understand how much profit you’re making on each unit sold, and it’s an essential indicator of your company’s overall financial health. A high Gross Profit Margin indicates that you’re generating enough revenue to cover your costs and have a good profit left over.

Current Ratio

Current Ratio is a financial KPI that measures your company’s ability to pay off its short-term liabilities with its short-term assets. It compares your current assets, which can be easily converted into cash, with your current liabilities, which are due within a year. To calculate the Current Ratio, divide your current assets by your current liabilities.

The formula is as follows:

Current Ratio = Current Assets / Current Liabilities

The Current Ratio is a crucial indicator of your company’s liquidity and ability to meet its short-term financial obligations. A high Current Ratio indicates that you have enough assets to cover your liabilities, while a low Current Ratio suggests that you may have trouble paying off your short-term debts.

Net Profit Margin

Net Profit Margin is a financial KPI that measures your company’s profitability after all expenses, including taxes and interest, have been deducted from your revenue. It indicates how much profit your business is generating for every dollar of revenue earned. To calculate the Net Profit Margin, divide your net profit by your revenue, then multiply by 100 to get the percentage.

The formula is as follows:

Net Profit Margin = (Net Profit / Revenue) x 100

Net Profit Margin is a critical indicator of your company’s financial health and ability to generate profit. A high Net Profit Margin means that your company is efficient at managing costs and generating revenue, which is an excellent sign for potential investors or lenders.

Accounts Receivable Turnover

Accounts Receivable Turnover is a financial KPI that measures how quickly your company is collecting payment from its customers. It represents the number of times your company collects its average accounts receivable during a specific period, such as a month or a year. To calculate the Accounts Receivable Turnover, divide your net credit sales by your average accounts receivable.

The formula is as follows:

Accounts Receivable Turnover = Net Credit Sales / Average Accounts Receivable

Accounts Receivable Turnover is a critical indicator of your company’s cash flow and liquidity. A high Accounts Receivable Turnover indicates that your company is collecting payment from its customers quickly and efficiently, which means you have more cash available to invest in your business.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Return on Investment (ROI) is a financial KPI that measures the return or profit you’re getting on an investment. It’s a ratio of the amount gained or lost on an investment relative to the amount invested. To calculate the ROI, subtract the investment cost from the gain, then divide the result by the investment cost and multiply by 100 to get the percentage.

The formula is as follows:

ROI = ((Gain – Cost) / Cost) x 100

ROI is an essential indicator of the profitability of an investment and helps you determine if it’s worth the investment. A high ROI means you’re getting a good return on your investment, while a low ROI suggests that the investment may not be worthwhile.

Key Takeaways

Implementing these KPIs into your financial management strategies will help you stay on top of your business’s financial health and pave the way for long-term success. Understanding your gross profit margin, current ratio, net profit margin, accounts receivable turnover, and return on investment will help you make informed decisions to improve your company’s profitability, liquidity, and cash flow.

Using financial projection templates can also make calculating these KPIs easier and more accurate. These templates provide a framework for forecasting your revenue, expenses, and cash flow, allowing you to track your progress against your projections and adjust your strategy

5 Financial KPIs Explained & How to Calculate Them Easily (3)

Related Items:banking, Business, finance, fintech, return on investment calculator

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5 Financial KPIs Explained & How to Calculate Them Easily (2024)

FAQs

How do you calculate financial KPI? ›

Return on Assets looks at how effectively assets are used to generate profits. The formula for this KPI is Net Income ÷ Total Assets. The Book Value Ratio KPI looks at the value per share of a business. The equation for this KPI is Shareholder's Equity ÷ Total Number of Shares Outstanding.

What are the 5 financial performance indicators? ›

The five primary types of performance indicators are profitability, leverage, valuation, liquidity and efficiency KPIs. Examples of profitability KPIs include gross and net margin and earnings per share (EPS). Efficiency KPIs include the payroll headcount ratio. Examples of liquidity KPIs are current and quick ratios.

What is the formula for calculating KPI? ›

OEE = (Availability * Quality * Efficiency)*100. Manufacturing KPIs are only as good as the data. Make sure you know where the data is coming from, and that equations and conversions are accurate when calculating KPIs.

What is the formula for KPI in accounting? ›

What are good KPI examples?
  • Billable hours: multiply how much you've worked by your hourly rate.
  • Accounts receivable turnover = net value of credit sales/average accounts receivable for a period.
  • Accounts payable turnover = net credit purchases/average accounts payable for a period.
Feb 6, 2023

What are examples of three 3 financial performance measures? ›

The Role of Measuring Financial Performance in a Business
  • Balance Sheet.
  • Income Statement.
  • Cash Flow Statement.

What are the 4 main types of performance indicators? ›

Anyway, the four KPIs that always come out of these workshops are:
  • Customer Satisfaction,
  • Internal Process Quality,
  • Employee Satisfaction, and.
  • Financial Performance Index.

How do KPIs measure performance? ›

Key performance indicators (KPIs) measure a company's success vs. a set of targets, objectives, or industry peers. KPIs can be financial, including net profit (or the bottom line, net income), revenues minus certain expenses, or the current ratio (liquidity and cash availability).

What is a KPI for beginners? ›

A KPI, or Key Performance Indicator, is a measurable value of how well your company is achieving specific business objectives over time. Think of a KPI as a compass. A compass guides you to figure out your current location and where to go.

What is a KPI example? ›

An example of a key performance indicator is, “targeted new customers per month”. Metrics measure the success of everyday business activities that support your KPIs. While they impact your outcomes, they're not the most critical measures. Some examples include “monthly store visits” or “white paper downloads”.

How do you calculate KPI revenue growth? ›

Revenue Growth is a KPI used to measure how sales are increasing or decreasing over time. It is calculated by dividing revenue generated during one time period by the revenue generated during a subsequent time period, subtracting 1, and then multiplying by 100 to obtain a percentage.

What is KPI and how it is calculated? ›

About KPI Scores

When a KPI is created, it is automatically assigned a score. A score is a normalized value between 0.0 and 1.0 representing the relative strength of the Actual Value. The formula is either: (Actual Value – Worst Value)/(Best Value – Worst Value) If the Best Value > Worst Value.

What is KPI in financials? ›

A financial key performance indicator (KPI) is a leading high-level measure of revenue, expenses, profits or other financial outcomes, simplified for gathering and review on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis. Typical examples are total revenue per employee, gross profit margin and operating cash flow.

How do I create a KPI sheet? ›

4 Steps to Building an Excel KPI Dashboard
  1. Step 1: Ask the right questions to define the right type of KPI dashboard. ...
  2. Step 2: Break down expectations for data collection. ...
  3. Step 3: Audit and organize the raw data. ...
  4. Step 4: Choose the graphs to best represent your key performance indicators.
Mar 22, 2023

What is the KPI scorecard for finance? ›

A financial KPI or metric is a measurable value that indicates a company's financial performance and provides information about expenses, sales, profit, and cash flow, in order to optimize and achieve a business' financial goals and objectives.

What does financial KPI mean? ›

Financial KPIs (key performance indicators) are metrics organizations use to track, measure, and analyze the financial health of the company. These financial KPIs fall under a variety of categories, including profitability, liquidity, solvency, efficiency, and valuation.

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